


Large Coffee, Cream, No Sugar

by Marshmellow Bobcat (MellowBobcat)



Category: Veronica Mars (Movie 2014), Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: Also Lilly Lives, Day 4, F/M, Fake Dating, Fluff, Humor, LV AU WEEK, Yoga, lv au week 2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:33:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23322499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MellowBobcat/pseuds/Marshmellow%20Bobcat
Summary: A coffee shop AU with no coffee shop.
Comments: 77
Kudos: 69
Collections: LV AU WEEK 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chikabiddy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chikabiddy/gifts).



> My Chikabiddy! As much as you always lift me, you needed a lift this week ❤️

From the uber talented Alina:   
[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/153394136@N06/49949446396/in/dateposted/)

_______ 

“I can’t believe he showed up,” Veronica Mars hissed to Lilly Kane as the two women got ready for Bikram yoga class. 

Veronica paused to survey the room. Most of the students were already in their places, including Logan Echolls, her weekday morning coffee shop flirt who was absolutely not supposed to take her invite seriously. 

He was standing on a blue mat, back to them, stretching his long muscular arms over his head preparing for class to start. As Veronica threw her hair up, he bent forward at the waist and she tugged too hard on the elastic, snapping it mid-ponytail. 

Lilly calmy handed her an extra from around her wrist. 

“He’s here because you invited him.” Lilly’s voice was perfectly level and reasonable, as if they weren’t talking about the disaster that was Veronica’s life. 

“I didn’t think he’d actually show. I was just making conversation.” 

“You invited ‘large coffee, cream, no sugar’ to my class by accident?” Lilly shot her a dubious look then pulled her loose sweater over her head, leaving a hot pink spandex tank top in its wake. 

“It just popped out. Look at him!” Veronica snatched the discarded top from Lilly’s hands, then peeled her own hoodie off and shoved them both in their shared cubby. 

“Oh, I’m looking.” Lilly had no problem looking. The hard planes of his body just begged for ogling. And for someone to rub oil over him; slowly. But she and Veronica had a tried and true no poaching rule. _Pity really._

“And anyway I thought maybe he might be gay at first.” Veronica defended. “He knew my shoes—the ones you shoved in my closet?—were last season!”

“The Prada’s?” 

“Yes!”

Lilly frowned. “I put those shoes in your closet last year. Are you still wearing them?”

“That’s not the point!” 

“See, if you updated your wardrobe like I keep telling you, maybe you wouldn’t be in this situation.” She pauses then added, “Shame on you, by the way, for assuming he was gay. Plenty of guys have better fashion sense than you do.”

“Lilly!”

Lilly peered closely at her friend, then narrowed her eyes at this coffee shop character. She hadn’t seen Veronica so flustered over a guy since they had first met.

“You’ve been flirting with him every morning for, what’s it been, three weeks now? Why are you so freaked out?”

“Like you said, he’s hot. And he’s really smart. And funny. He keeps up, you know?” Veronica’s cheeks heated. “But we were supposed to just...flirt over coffee in the mornings. Harmless, _distant_ flirting. He wasn’t supposed to show up to where I live.” 

Startled, Lilly swung around to fully face Veronica. “Did you tell him you live over the studio?”

“Of course not,” Veronica scoffed. “As if I would tell a stranger where I live.” 

It was the first thing she had promised her dad when she moved to New York after college. Save the home visits for the third date and stay away from that Trump character. 

Lilly relaxed and slipped off her flats. “You’re overreacting. You know that right? So what if he likes you. You obviously like him. Just go with the flow.”

“ _You_ go with the flow. I do not go with the flow. I think things through Lilly, and he’s not for me.” 

“Veronica...” Lilly started with a rare hesitation in her voice. “Ronica, not every guy is Piz. It’s been years...” 

Veronica knelt down to rummage in her gym bag aimlessly. The Piz thing wasn’t even all that bad. A classic Once Upon an Asshole story and Veronica had met Lilly as a result of it, so she can’t help but be grateful for the experience. What irked was that she’d been duped. 

She was supposed to be the keen observer of the human experience. The one her friends brought their boyfriends to and asked ‘what do you think, Veronica?’ So she had been confident, smug even, when she found herself a nice guy. Sweet, a little doofy, innocent. She’d been wrong. 

Lilly bent down next to her just as Veronica brushed against her phone. Seizing the opportunity and the excuse, Veronica made a show of checking the time. 

“Class is about to start. You better get up there.” 

Lilly gave Veronica another close examination, then acquiesced, standing to walk to the front of the room. Relieved, Veronica shoved her phone back in her bag and followed the curvy blonde, careful to avert her eyes away from the built brunette in the third row as she took her place in the first row.

Once Logan Echolls was firmly at her back and class began, Veronica tuned everything out except for Lilly’s gentle instruction. Lilly had named her yoga studio _Nama-Slay_ , and slay she did. Lilly was an amazing teacher. A pain in the ass, too observant for comfort, but an amazing teacher. 

Veronica went through the motions easily, body fluid and bendy from years of taking Lilly’s class. Towards the end she was feeling better about it all. 

Lilly called for downward dog and Veronica pushed up on all fours, bending in the middle, and lengthened her spine for all she was worth. Touching her head to the floor she breathed out her worry, breathed in perspective. _He was probably just curious about the studio. It did have a reputation for excellence._

Veronica released her position and followed the instructions into child’s pose. Kneeling she lowered her torso onto her thighs, then reached her arms out over her head, palms down on the floor. She let her belly relax along with her thoughts. _He’d probably forget all about her after watching Lilly run through the advanced moves. They all did._

By the time Lilly called for the final pose, Veronica was at peace. She laid on her back, arms at her sides and released any effort from holding her limbs in position. Still as a corpse, she slid her eyes closed and let herself become detached from the present moment. 

A shadow fell over her, along with an ominous zip up her spine. 

“Class was great, thanks for inviting me.” 

She took a breath and opened her eyes. There he was: Logan Echolls, with his easy smile and boyish charm. She scrambled up to a position that wasn’t flat on her back.

“Um, I’m glad you enjoyed it.” 

He crouched down beside her. “Can I take you out for a drink tonight?” 

His body had a thin sheen of sweat and eyes were twinkling in the studio lights. She leaned fractionally closer.

“Drinks sound good...”

He grinned at her and suggested a local bar, ticking off its pros and cons, completely oblivious to her internal panic. 

_Did she just say yes? How did that happen?_

Suddenly Lilly appeared, standing above them like a beacon of hope. 

“Everything okay?”

Veronica went with the flow. “Everything’s fine, honey. Logan, you’ve met my girlfriend Lilly.” 

Both stared at her. She continued on as if they weren’t looking at her like she had two heads. “Honey, Logan here just invited us out for drinks.” 

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The actual fake dating part to my original post. One or two more plus couples yoga to go. For Alina who won't let me forget this one. I'm grateful to you, friend!

Logan Echolls probably should have retracted the offer for drinks, but damn his curiosity, he'd just had to know how far she'd take it.

Now, he rolled his shoulders under his fitted black tee, then leaned back on his barstool at Tequila Mockingbird to observe the two blondes seated across the hightop from him. The greetings had been made, the drinks had been ordered, and the awkward silence had ensued.

Veronica looked particularly uncomfortable, shifting in her seat, fiddling with her wine glass as she surreptitiously leaned away from her 'girlfriend'.

Lilly, on the other hand, was positively feline.

She had somehow managed to drape herself across Veronica, practically in her lap, the ballet-slipper pink of her silk blouse looking especially delicate against Veronica's distressed leather jacket. Their temples touching so close their hair mingled on Veronica's leather clad shoulder in a cascade of gold. A vixen in Prada's clothing.

Studying him from Veronica's side, Lilly's body was languid, her demeanor indulgent, but her eyes. Her eyes were hyper-observant, with a thread of something dangerous, and something brittle, underneath.

Logan felt an involuntary flash of interest he learned long ago to push down. In another life he imagined there could be something there; some heat between them. In a life where he'd stayed with his dad. A life where he hadn't spent hours of mom-ordered therapy working his shit out.

Right now, he was more interested in trying to figure out what the fuck happened.

It was baffling to the point of annoyance. He and Veronica had been flirting for _weeks_. (Albeit somewhat awkwardly on her part.) She'd been witty and charming and then one day she'd started stuttering.

But, she had invited him to yoga class. And he _went_ to yoga class. A class taught by her girlfriend. A girlfriend who'd looked as shocked as he was at her sudden relationship status.

"Alright," Lilly broke their staring contest, resting her hand on top of Veronica's, slowly tracing around a white knuckle with a long, french-tipped fingernail. "Tell me about yourself, Mr. Large Coffee Cream No Sugar. My little bobcat hasn't said much. Are you from New York?"

She punctuated the endearment with a kiss to Veronica's cheek.

While Veronica turned a particularly bright shade of red, Logan quirked a brow. The little bobcat definitely said enough that Lilly knew his coffee order.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Veronica attempt to inch away from Lilly on her stool and sighed to himself.

"You're going to fall off," he offered helpfully.

Veronica set her jaw, and glared daggers. He bit back a grin.

With a laugh of her own, Lilly moved more firmly onto her own stool to take a dainty sip of her gin and tonic.

Finally relaxed, Veronica sampled her own drink and he watched her steadily, giving her a chance to retcon this farce.

Another flush crept across her cheeks.

He'd expected better. Disappointing.

Calling on his inner jackass, he shot her his most knowing, pitying look, fully expecting her to cave.

Instead, she doubled down.

Pulling Lilly's hand back on top of her own, Veronica laced their fingers together, resting her head onto Lilly's shoulder.

"We're listening, aren't we, honey?"

Gone was the stiff, uncomfortable girl. In her place, a woman dared him to question her. He could feel the challenge coming off her in waves.

 _This._ This was what caught his interest, had him going two train stops out of his way every morning for a mediocre cup of coffee. The woman he'd met at Nancy Brew was warm and vibrant, a little suspicious, and completely sarcastic.

Blonde girls with angel faces and devil's tongues—his Achilles heel.

He could wait her out.

He turned back to an amused Lilly. "I'm originally from LA, but I've lived in New York most of my life. And you can call me Logan, the nickname is a bit of a tongue twister."

Logan's smirk slid into a frown as recognition lit Lilly's eyes.

"Logan Echolls?"

"Yup," he replied grimly, toasting her with his scotch. He didn't think they'd get to that so soon. He had managed to avoid it for weeks with Veronica, and was pleasantly surprised when she didn't recognize him. But instead of the gushing he expected, Veronica simply looked curious.

Lilly only said, "I've met your father."

Logan grimaced. In his experience, fangirls wouldn't just let it go at that. They wanted to _talk_ about his father. Tell Logan exactly what Aaron said, wore, smelled like. They wanted him to _care_. To date, there had been no way around it, so his MO was to try and move past it as quickly as possible.

Logan asked Lilly politely, "At one of his fan events?"

Lilly's tinkling laugh surprised him. "No, at my parent's house when I was in high school."

"Your parents?"

"She's Lilly Kane." Veronica interjected, eyes ping-ponging, a million questions in them.

"As in—"

"Kane Software." Lilly confirmed.

The Kanes owned Neptune, California. Hell, the Kanes owned California. Rumor had it her brother was being groomed for the senate.

"What are you doing in New York?"

Lilly tossed her hair at Veronica's sharp look of concern. "I defected, you?"

He gave his pat response.

"Parents split when I was twelve and my mom and I moved across the country. How'd you two lovebirds meet?" He deflected with a smirk. It was a little early in the relationship for soul baring, and he was talking to the wrong blonde, anyway. He glanced at the one he wanted and she scooted closer to Lilly.

"Honey, should I start?" Veronica asked Lilly while fluttering her lashes at Logan.

_Minx._

"Was it love at first sight?" Logan asked, full sarcasm on display.

Veronica and Lilly laughed, a bright genuine sound that told him in this, at least, they'd be honest.

"Something like that."

They shared a fond look, and at Lilly's slight nod Veronica settled further back into Lilly's shoulder.

"I was dating this guy—"

"Guy?"

"I don't like labels."

"Hmm."

"As I was saying, I was dating this guy. We'd just moved in together when things started to feel off. Nothing major. He was a little less attentive, more distracted than before. He was starting a new job at a local radio station so I understood, was sympathetic even. But I couldn't shake the feeling." Veronica took a small sip of her drink. "So I followed him."

Of course she had.

"To my studio," Lilly chimed in.

"Yup, the fabulous Nama-Slay. I snuck in and watched his class. It all clicked. He was embarrassed. Which made me embarrassed for being suspicious, so I left. But something Lilly said while teaching caught my attention—"

"That if yoga bores you, if you can't turn off your mind and concentrate, then you're doing it wrong."

"—and God knows I needed the quiet up here." She tapped her skull.

"You? I wouldn't have guessed."

"Anyway, I signed up for a class, when I knew Piz—that was the guy—was at work."

"Piz?"

"I know. Trust me, I know." Sighing, Veronica pushed her wine aside and dragged a bowl of pretzels across the table, signaling to Lilly, who seamlessly picked up the story as Veronica munched down.

"I noticed this tiny girl right in the front of class executing my instructions with more aggression than grace."

Veronica scoffed around a pretzel.

"And I guess something clicked there too, because I invited her out for brunch after class. We got to talking about our men. She told me all about her guy, his sudden disinterest, the late nights at the local radio station, following him to my class. I told her about this new guy— annoyingly persistent, too eager for my taste. He also worked at a local radio station and took my class."

"No. No fucking way."

"Yup," Veronica tipped her glass to Logan. "Got it in one. Same guy."

"How did you not claw each other's eyes out?," he wondered in awe.

Lilly giggled and shoved Veronica with her shoulder, "Oh, Ronica here is _way_ more fun than Pez."

"We kicked the guy to the curb, I moved out, we've been best friends ever since."

"And no poaching," Lilly added solemnly.

Veronica gave her a one-armed hug, leaving it there as she turned back to Logan. "She takes great pleasure in parading her boyfriends past me. 'Are you _sure_ you've never dated this one, Veronica Mars?'"

Veronica didn't seem to notice Lilly's surprised expression.

"At least the latest guy seems to have some staying power," Veronica continued to tease. "It's been three whole months."

Logan pinned Veronica with a stare, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Her _current_ boyfriend has endurance, does he?"

Her eyes widened the moment she realized: the jig was up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to CubbieGirl, always, and to Amy for her through read through and general cheer leading.

**Author's Note:**

> A massive incredible amount of thanks to Steenbeans and Chikabiddy for their LLLLLAAAASSSSTTTT minute beta and incredible support!! And as always, my alpha Cubbie!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Covers (Marshmellow Bobcat stories)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25006234) by [VeronicaMarsFanArt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeronicaMarsFanArt/pseuds/VeronicaMarsFanArt)




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